With Colorado’s winding mountain roads and super fast highways, having auto insurance is a must, even if it wasn’t required by state law.  The minimums for Colorado auto liability insurance are $25,000 for bodily injury for an individual and $50,000 per accident, plus $15,000 for property damage liability.  Colorado also allows a single limit liability policy of $65,000.

Colorado once ranked highest in the nation for the number of uninsured motorists on the road; now a computerized system available to police has helped to improve that ranking, but uninsured motorist coverage is still strongly recommended.  The state changed the laws on medical coverage in 2003, requiring each individual to initially pay for their own medical bills, so most people carry at least $25,000 in medical payments coverage as well.  (If you have health insurance, this will usually pay for initial treatment, but check with your health insurance provider.)

Adults over 55 enjoy a great break on Colorado senior auto insurance because the state requires insurance providers to give a discount to anyone completing a DMV approved driving course, such as the ones taught by AARP.  The discount is good for three years.

Make sure to pay your insurance premiums on time if you live in Colorado – there’s no grace period for late payments.  Non-payment is also one of the few approved reasons for cancellation of a Colorado auto insurance policy.

There are many factors which affect the quotes you’ll receive for car insurance in Colorado, plus a bunch of ways to save money on your policy.  Make sure you know them all before you start shopping for auto insurance in Colorado.

Do you have a dog or cat?  If you do, you may like a new offering from Progressive Insurance which covers vet expenses for cats or dogs injured in an accident while riding in their owner’s vehicle, in yet another new twist on auto insurance.

Now the “pet provision” is available in 46 states and Washington D.C. at no extra charge.  Progressive Insurance will pay up to $500 towards vet bills, with the “usual and customary” requirement of course, but only on dogs and cats.  This won’t work on gerbils, birds, or pet iguanas. 

Why are they doing this?  Progressive is looking for one more reason to get your business in the highly competitive auto insurance business. They will require customers to carry collision coverage and file a claim for damage before a payout will be issued on hurt critters. 

Until now, if your dog or cat was injured in a crash that wasn’t your fault, the other guy’s property damage liability coverage would pay, because pets are considered property.  But if you were the cause of the accident, you were just out of luck.

We have two Siberian Huskies who love to ride in our SUV, with their heads hanging out the window of course.  We don’t have Progressive right now, but when renewal time comes, that will be one of the companies we’ll ask for a free auto insurance quote.  Yes, we price our auto insurance rates every year, just to make sure we’re getting a great deal and prevent our agent from getting complacent.  Don’t you?

Requirements for Georgia auto insurance are a bit higher than most states, at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident for bodily injury liability insurance and $25,000 for property damage liability insurance, according to the official Georgia state insurance website.  Though that’s still not a realistic amount to cover your personal assets, it’s good to know that if you are in an accident with an insured motorist, there’s at least that much coverage you can count on.

Georgia doesn’t require personal injury protection (PIP) or uninsured/underinsured motorists like some other states, but both are still good ideas to have as part of your auto insurance coverage.  If your car is financed, your lender will probably require you to also carry comprehensive and collision coverage, so that if there’s an accident that’s your fault, if the car gets stolen, or even if a tree falls on it, you’re covered. 

As you’re shopping for auto insurance in Georgia, if your budget allows, spring for a few extras in the policy such as towing insurance coverage and loss of use, which will help pay for a rental car if your vehicle is in the shop due to a covered event, like an accident (sorry, it won’t pay just because your car broke down). 

Car insurance companies in Georgia look for pretty much the same things as companies in other states – good driving records, type of vehicle, credit scores, so make sure you make smart choices in each of those areas.  Make sure you compare quotes from at least 3-4 companies too before making your final decision on Georgia auto insurance.

There are some features on new vehicles which can help lower your auto insurance premium.  Remember, insurance companies base their rates on the amount of risk involved in each car, so anything that helps reduce that risk reduces rates.  That’s why it’s important to consider the entire package when purchasing a new car, SUV or pickup. 

One of the best options to add in your new car is electronic stability control.  ESC uses speed sensors to detect if the vehicle is headed in a direction different than the steering wheel indicates, then automatically brakes individual wheels to help drivers maintain control.  Tests have shown that ESC can so significantly reduce the risk of rolling over or having a fatal accident that it may become required in all vehicles some day. 

Electronic stability control is required before a vehicle can be considered for a Top Safety Pick award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  This feature is standard in over half the 2007 cars and almost every SUV, but sadly it’s not available in three quarters of all pickup trucks.  If ESC is only available as an option on your vehicle, at $500 many consider this the best money you can spend on a new car.

Side air bags, which protect the head or chest, are another critical option to include whenever possible.  If your car is hit from the side, these air bags instantly inflate, protecting drivers and passengers from hitting the rigid side of the vehicle, reducing fatalities by a huge 26% from torso injuries and 37% from head injuries.  Currently side air bags are standard equipment on many cars, but if they are an option on the vehicle you’re considering, spend the $600 for this important protection.  Not only will your auto insurance quotes be lower, isn’t your life worth it?

So remember, when you are searching for that perfect new vehicle, besides choosing the color and GPS system, make sure that you include every possible safety feature.  Not only will you save money on auto insurance, you could save a life too.

One of the most important factors in determining your auto insurance rates is the type of car you drive.  Sure, we all know that a Maserati will cost more for insurance than a Ford, but would you guess a Volvo is the cheapest of all when it comes to car insurance?

Auto insurance companies look at a bunch of different things that are all part of providing coverage on your car.  For starters, what will it cost to repair your auto in case of a collision?  Owners of fast, sporty cars tend to drive faster and get in more accidents, so that’s why those have higher insurance premiums.  The design of luxury cars, with fancy aluminum body panels, can be more expensive to fix than the sheet metal used in cheaper models.  End result – higher auto insurance premiums.

Do thieves just love your car?  If it’s one of the more popular targets, your insurance will be higher.  It’s not just Mercedes getting stolen – it’s also specific models of Hondas, Nissans, and even a Dodge SRT-4. 

Not everything works against you when it comes to your premiums.  Tomorrow we’ll talk about the car features which can help reduce your auto insurance rates.

Let’s continue talking about auto insurance, since it’s a mandatory part of our lives.  We already know that every state requires you to purchase bodily injury and property damage insurance; here are the other components of auto insurance that you need to consider as well.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage – Some states require you to purchase this type of auto insurance, which covers medical bills, rehabilitation or funeral costs for you and your passengers if you are injured by a driver with little or no insurance, or someone who flees the scene of the accident.  Given the sadly large number of uninsured drivers out there, this coverage is well worth the few dollars it adds to your total car insurance premium.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Some states require PIP; others don’t, and some are changing those rules right now.  This coverage provides for lost wages and medical care if you are in an accident.  The last time I was in an accident, my company health insurance paid for everything, so this would not have helped.

Collision Insurance – This will pay for the repairs to your car if there’s an accident, regardless of fault.  Determine whether or not your vehicle costs enough to warrant this type of insurance.  Most cars do, but it’s still something to think about.

Comprehensive Insurance – If your car is stolen or damaged due to something other than a car accident, comprehensive coverage will pay for it, to the limit of the policy.  Again, ask yourself if your vehicle is worth paying for this coverage.

One of the most popular ways to save money on auto insurance is by increasing the deductibles for comprehensive and collision insurance coverage.  Most quotes default to a $250 deductible, but ask about raising it to $500, or even $1000, and see the difference it makes in your automobile insurance quote. 

So, just how much auto insurance do you need?  Virtually every state has minimum amounts required for bodily injury liability coverage and property damage coverage, which are usually quite low – so low, in fact, that if you do cause an accident, you may not have enough coverage to pay the claims.  In that case, you are personally liable for the rest of the money, meaning your wages can be garnished, you could lose your home, and a bunch of other nasty things you don’t want to think about.  If you want to protect the rest of your life from those types of claims, buy the necessary additional auto insurance coverage to insure you’ll be safe.

Bodily injury liability requirements are sometimes as low as $10,000 per person or $25,000 per accident.  Honestly, knowing what medical bills can skyrocket to these days, your best bet is to increase your coverage to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.  Bodily injury covers things like rehabilitation, pain and suffering award and legal costs too.

If you are a high net worth individual, raise those limits even higher, to $250,000/$500,000 levels.  Though your premium will increase at least 10% in doing so, you have a lot more to protect from a hungry lawyer with an injured client.

Property damage liability insurance covers the costs to repair caused damage by your vehicle to another person’s vehicle or property damaged by your vehicle.  Though your state may only require $10,000 – $25,000 for this type of damage, $100,000 is a much better idea. 

We’ll help you find the state insurance requirement minimums you must carry, then shop around for auto insurance to see what it will cost you to carry the extra coverage recommended.  Usually it’s not that much more expensive, and the peace of mind is more than worth it!

Does your teenager drive differently when you’re not in the car?  Now parents in 18 states don’t have to wonder about that any more, if they have American Family Insurance, according to the Insurance Journal. 

The auto insurance company has introduced a limited program offering a free dual-sided video camera mounted on interior rear-view mirrors which shoots straight ahead as well as the driver and the car’s interior.

A motion sensor kicks on if there’s erratic driving, like rapid acceleration, swerving, abrupt braking or collisions, recording 10 seconds before and after the activity.  The video is wirelessly transmitted to a password protected website, which parents can access to review their teen’s driving.  An analyst also writes a report about the incident.

A preliminary test showed that risky driving was reduced by 70% with the cameras.  It’s too early to tell if adding a camera will reduce teen auto insurance premiums.  Other insurance companies currently offer GPS services to track speed and where teens have gone to help parents monitor their children’s driving.  It’s only a matter of time until other car insurance companies follow suit with these services, since inexperienced teen drivers are one of the highest risk groups to insure.

One family has already learned an important lesson from the program.  17-year-old Bradley Antonio protested when the camera was installed in his car, but two days later when he was in an accident, the camera showed he’d made a left turn in front of the oncoming vehicle.  “It was frightening, really frightening, to see that,” his mother, Laura Antonio recalled.

Not surprisingly, teen drivers aren’t too happy about this program.  Colorado teen Chase Ryland protested that he wouldn’t be able to kiss his girlfriend anymore.  He’s right, at least not while he’s driving!

Drivers must carry more auto insurance in Texas beginning April 1, 2008.  Though the state has always required coverage, the limits were low at just $20,000/$40,000 for bodily injury liability insurance and $15,000 in property damage liability coverage.  The new minimums will now rise to $25,000 per injured person and $50,000 for two or more injured people in an accident, and $25,000 for property damage, according to a report by Insurance Journal.

This change coincides with the launch of the Texas Financial Responsibility Verification Program, which is a very long name for a new real-time system designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists on state roads.  The system enables law enforcement officers and other state personnel to instantly access a database telling the insurance status on each driver and vehicle.  Failure to comply by not carrying at least the minimum insurance has serious consequences, starting with having the vehicle impounded if the driver can’t show proof of insurance.

Although critics worry that maintaining such a huge database could lead to reporting errors, and fret about a individuals who may be inconvenienced by mistakes, other states have successfully operated similar databases with minimal issues.  Meanwhile, incidents of uninsured motorists decreased, consequently reducing the cost of that coverage.  Currently experts estimate that 15-20% of Texas motorists are uninsured.  Let’s see what just how low that number goes by April, 2009.

It’s important for residents searching for Virginia Auto Insurance to be familiar with the many laws the state has in place concerning auto insurance.  Fact is, it seems that Virginia has more laws than most other states, but those laws have a good balance between protecting citizens and the insurance companies.

Virginia minimums include bodily injury liability coverage of $25,000 for one person; $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $20,000 for property damage coverage.  While most states merely recommend uninsured/underinsured coverage, Virginia actually requires it for all drivers, at the same amounts shown above.  Of course higher coverage levels are strongly recommended, because any damages above the maximum liability covered by the auto insurance policy are the personal responsibility of the car’s owner.

Drivers choosing not to purchase insurance can do so, provided they pay an annual $500 Universal Motorist Fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles.  This doesn’t provide any insurance coverage – just officially notifies the state of the decision not to carry car insurance coverage. 

The Virginia Competitive Rating Law allows each insurance company to set their own rates for auto insurance coverage, which results in competition between companies.  This means it’s extremely important to shop several insurance providers because there could be a huge difference in rates based on their experience within each zip code.

If a driver is over 55 and successfully completes a DMV-approved accident prevention course, Virginia state law requires they automatically receive a reduction in the automobile insurance premiums.

Finally, Virginia has a law about Contributory Negligence, which recognizes that an individual may be partially responsible for their injuries in an accident.  An example of this might be crossing a street against the “Don’t Walk” sign.  If this is the case, that person may actually receive less compensation from the insurance company because of failure on their part to avoid the accident as well.

So, Virginia drivers, make sure you shop around, purchase more than the minimum amounts, and never ever cross against the light!